


[C] Sorted Out

by OneofWebs



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Denial of Feelings, Feelings Realization, Frottage, Getting Back Together, Gore, Intercrural Sex, M/M, Medical, Permanent Injury, Porn with Feelings, Post-Break Up, Rough Kissing, Running Away, Showers, Virus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:02:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26970349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneofWebs/pseuds/OneofWebs
Summary: Leon and Krauser have just returned with Manuela in tow. She's being taken off, and all that's left now is for them to figure out what happens next. Krauser's been wounded, and if he's not careful, he'll be going where ever they just took Manuela.
Relationships: Leon S. Kennedy/Jack Krauser
Comments: 7
Kudos: 38





	[C] Sorted Out

**Author's Note:**

> another resident evil fic! Set after Dark Side Chronicles, which was actually one of my favorite RE games honestly. It was fun getting to delve back into it for a little bit to get this fic set up. hope you enjoy! it's mostly touchy feely

The helicopter hadn’t been on the ground for more than thirty-seconds before United States soldiers were approaching. What might have looked to be at least a day recovering was slowing dwindled down to seconds as the small platoon approached. Leon might have even felt relief, but he knew exactly what they planned to do. The moment they’d brought Manuela here, she wasn’t a person, anymore. She was a test subject, and they were about to take her off to her cage.

Hoping for the best was hoping that Manuela wouldn’t be treated like an animal or some unholy personification of the virus. With how her arm looked entirely stitched together of rotting flesh and open sores, Leon knew it was a long shot. But he hoped, at the very least, that she would be taken care of.

As Leon stepped down from the helicopter, he took Manuela’s hand and helped her down. He didn’t let her go, immediately. Letting her to go would take their seconds down to zero, and he might never see her again. After all that they’d been through, he wasn’t quite ready for that, and no one could blame him.

“You’ll be alright,” Leon told her. She wore fear on her face like an accessory. “You can ask for me at any time, and I’ll try to stop by to see you, okay?”

Manuela nodded. “Where will you go?” She asked. “What are you going to do?”

Leon looked at her for a moment, then glanced right over the crest of her hair to where Krauser was stepping down from the helicopter. His arm was still bleeding, but even so, he shook off the first hand that was offered.

“I don’t know,” Leon said, finally looking back at her. “Wherever they send me, I guess. I’ve got a feeling I’ll be around for a couple of days.”

“I may not be,” Manuela said, and though Leon knew what she meant, it sounded dark.

The soldiers had come to a stop just feet away from them, and it was the signal that their time had ended. Leon might stay here because he needed to see medical staff. He might even stay because _Krauser_ needed to see someone, loathe as he appeared to do so. At the very least, Leon would stay here because they could afford him to stay here until there was a new assignment for him to go on. Manuela had no such luxury. If they did not mean to keep her here, she would be carted off to a facility somewhere else that was large enough and equipped enough to handle her needs.

“You’ll be alright.” Leon promised, again. He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “You’ll be alright.” That time, he was sure to convince himself, too.

He stood there with his arms crossed as Manuela was led away, officially taken into U.S. custody. And it was custody. She wasn’t going to be some comfortable guest; that was the part that scared Leon, knowing that she was going to be treated more like an animal than a girl. It was the only way these people knew how to act. Leon was almost glad that he hadn’t gotten to that point; he never wanted to come across someone like Manuela, a _victim_ of her situation, and look at her as anything other than the child she was.

Krauser stepped up beside him, then, taking him out of his own head. Leon just had this innate ability to concern himself with things that were entirely not his concern. That, namely, had been Manuela. Now, it was Krauser’s open wound.

“You need to get that—”

“Shut up,” Krauser said. “I don’t need your advice.”

Krauser only stood there for a moment before he walked off. Leon, who couldn’t help himself, followed just half a step behind.

“Maybe not my advice, but you could at least use some medical attention. If you don’t want to go into the med bay, then at _least_ let me look at it.”

“When did you become a battlefield nurse?” Krauser snorted.

“Right now, if you need one.”

Krauser just frowned. He wasn’t ready for where he thought this was going—he didn’t _need_ Leon. That had always been a point of contempt. Maybe it still was, as their companionship just continued to change. They worked well enough together, despite things that had happened. They didn’t need to sit down and have one of those conversations Leon was so fond of. He had all these big ideals on what things were and how they could be, and of course, it was always Krauser’s inability to catch up to be blamed at fault.

It was useless to try and get Leon to leave him alone. As long as there was blood dripping down his arm, Leon would not leave him alone. There had been too many wounds to prove that, so Krauser knew it was a futile effort. He still wanted to be left alone, but if letting Leon take a look at his arm would get him there faster, then he would just accept it.

“If you have to,” Krauser grumbled, “then we’re going somewhere private. Go get your med kit.”

Leon didn’t dare smile. “Where do you want me to meet you?”

“There’s an empty shed at the end of the complex,” Krauser said. “If I knew they wouldn’t send a search party, I’d say we leave the damn place, entirely.”

“I’ll meet you there.” Still, no smile.

They parted ways. Leon went to go steal enough medical supplies to deal with this, and Krauser walked down the path to his abandoned shed. It was one of those things that was still around from the beginning of this site that no one had gotten around to knocking down. It didn’t serve any purpose, save that Krauser had taken it for himself for as long as they would be here. After years, he’d found he would prefer sleeping on the ground if it meant he didn’t have to stash himself into those little cell-cots the barracks pretended were beds. That, and the _people_. It was always hot.

Krauser pushed his way into the shed and left the door open just wide enough that Leon would be able to squeeze his way through. While he waited for Leon’s inevitable and less than heroic return, Krauser dropped down on the cot he’d stashed away here. He’d pack it all up when it was time to leave, but for the moment, this was a private getaway in a world where private getaways didn’t exist. It wasn’t as if he could book a flight down to Hawaii on vacation, anymore. He might as well just call the shack Hawaii—it was the best anyone would get.

He started tearing off his gear, in the meantime. Already, a list of things he was going to have to subject himself to was running through his mind. A debriefing. Gear turn around. A _real_ medical examination. He prayed it would stop there, but he didn’t know what they would find. It was probably why he didn’t want to go in for the medical examination. His continued service was entirely dependent on that examination coming back clean; even more so, it was dependent on this would not being the end of his life.

Krauser, now down to just his shirt, pants, and boots, took a moment to look at his own wound. He had been avoiding looking at it, and now that he had, his stomach dropped. Before he could think about any of his options, he heard the door creak. Leon was back, and with him was a beaten-up backpack.

“You have no idea the story I had to come up with to get away with this,” Leon said. Once he was inside, he pushed the door closed and replaced the large bean that kept intruders from coming in.

“I don’t care,” Krauser muttered. “They’re going to discharge me; you know that, right?”

“Don’t say that.” Leon walked up to Krauser and set the backpack down on the cot beside him. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“And what if it’s not?”

“You’ll figure it out. I’ve never seen you not able to figure something out.”

Krauser shook his head and didn’t answer. He couldn’t deal with Leon’s unending faith. The best way to put a stop to it was just shut up and let Leon do what he’d come to do. Krauser didn’t say anything as he shifted his arm out, resting his hand on the edge of his knee. That was the cue for Leon to get to work and then get out. This was nothing more than Krauser humoring Leon; Krauser would tell himself that, because it was easier.

Leon started with just cleaning the wound, wiping away the blood from Krauser’s arm. He needed stitches, but they could silently agree to skip that. No matter how well Leon tended to this wound, it wouldn’t get Krauser out of something official. This was just to keep him from falling apart until he was ready for that. All Krauser could think about was how this was the end of it. He couldn’t even watch as Leon started to wrap his arm. The bleeding still hadn’t entirely stopped, but it was slowed. The bandages would help.

“There,” Leon said. He’d knelt down to work on Krauser’s arm, and though he was finished, he still didn’t stand. “You still need to—”

“I know,” Krauser bit. He looked down at Leon, and his lips set in a hard frown line.

Leon walked out of that without more than a few scratches, some bruises. There was a cut along his brow line, too. Krauser thought he’d fought the urges out, but it was still there in the twitch of his fingers like he wanted to reach out and wipe the blood from Leon’s forehead. It wouldn’t do anything, nothing more than tell Leon he still _cared_ —which was exactly what Leon probably wanted. All it did was make Krauser feel weaker, and what a thing that would have been to let Leon know. He’d never hear the end of it.

He wanted to convince himself that Leon was the one who was weak. He’d given up on everything because, what, he didn’t feel _needed_? Krauser barely needed the medical attention. What he needed was to be stronger. He was strong enough to be stronger; he’d seen the things that were possible with this virus, and he couldn’t help but let himself think about it. If Leon knew, he’d storm right out of this shed and never look back. Which, if Krauser had believed himself for even a moment, was precisely what he wanted.

He should have just said something, but he didn’t.

“We should probably get on the official stuff,” Leon said, finally pushing himself up to his feet. He couldn’t meet Krauser’s gaze, too wrapped up in his own thoughts.

“Go ahead,” Krauser said. “I need a minute.”

Leon sucked in a deep breath but nodded. “Can I see you later?”

“If you have to.”

That was Leon’s cue to leave, so he did. There was too much for what a small space the shed was offering them; Leon needed the fresh air. That shed had turned stifling, quickly, with too many things brought right back to the surface with the situation, the close proximity. If only things were easier, but they weren’t.

Once he was out of the shed, fresh air back in his lungs, Leon had an easier time pushing it all back down where it belonged—not actively swirling through his thoughts. He’d go about his business and hope that, when it came time for a meal, he would see Krauser. He could suppress every other feeling, every other thought, but the only thing that kept them down was at least knowing that he could still see Krauser. They didn’t have to be anything—friends, lovers, whatever. As long as Leon could still see him and know he was alright.

Leon was debriefed and assured by at least three different authorities that Manuela would be taken care of. He didn’t believe it, but it was easier to grin and bear it than to argue with people who wouldn’t listen to him. After that, he went in for his medical examination: passed, with flying colors. His wounds were minor, no signs of infection, and all of his vitals were right where they needed to be. After that, all he wanted was a shower and something hot in his stomach.

The shower came first, and while it was short and done mostly with lukewarm water, it still left Leon feeling better than he had in weeks. Then, he was right into fresh clothes. If he had the luxury, he might have considered just burning the clothes he came back from assignments in. They were always plagued with the stench of death, made only bearable by the familiarity of blood and sweat, instead. That would have been a waste of resources, and instead the goal was to always see if scentless soap could somehow wash out that stench.

With fresh clothes, Leon headed out to get some food. By now, he hoped that Krauser had followed in his steps and gotten everything out of the way. Leon believed everything would be fine, and they’d go right back out together on the next assignment—whatever it turned out to be.

Worry only roused when Leon did not see Krauser around for a meal. Surely, he needed one. There hadn’t exactly been a chance to stop for a bite to eat. Krauser had to have been starving; Leon was, and he had significantly less bulk in need of energy. If Leon hadn’t been starving, he would have left to find Krauser, immediately. Unfortunately, his hunger was stronger than his worry. His constant worry had always been a point of resentment; Krauser had said it was stifling, and that wasn’t what Leon wanted to be.

After he’d eaten, Leon fell right back into his worry. There were probably other things he needed to attend to, but he would attend to the worry first. Of the entire complex, the only place Leon could think that he’d find Krauser was back in that little shed. It was a place that he’d built for himself, and there was no better place to go when things were bad. Leon just had a feeling that things were bad.

He hurried through the complex perhaps a bit faster than was appropriate, but Leon was just about done with what was appropriate. He and Krauser weren’t doing each other any good tiptoeing around each other or around the situation. If Leon was going to be damned for his worry, then he was going to make sure there was a good reason for that. He was going to worry like no one’s business, and that took him straight back to the shed. Leon didn’t bother with knocking or asking for permission—his shoving through the door was warning enough that he was there. Krauser couldn’t convince him to leave.

Krauser didn’t even seem to be concerned with that, though. Not when Leon was back in the shed. Krauser was still here, or, more accurately, had come back—just like Leon thought he might. He was wearing fresh clothes, and his hair was freshly slicked back. He lay on the cot, facing the wall. It meant his wounded arm was up and free of unneeded pressure. Leon could see that the bandages were different; he’d been to see the medical team. Still, there was blood.

“Krauser,” Leon said, “how’s the wound?”

There came no immediate reply, so Leon stepped farther into the shed.

“You never struck me as the kind to sulk. Worse than you thought it was? I told you, you should have gone to get it looked at earlier—”

“Shut up,” Krauser bit. “How long did it take us to get back here?”

Leon shrugged. “It’s probably been a day. Maybe closer to two. I stopped keeping track once we got out of there.”

“Long enough that this should have started healing.”

“Maybe.” Leon could see where this was going, and he didn’t want to go there. He didn’t want to let Krauser go there, either, but that wasn’t his decision. All at once, Krauser was sitting up.

“I _told_ you,” he growled, “they were going to discharge me. And guess what—”

“Krauser—”

“It’s not healing. Two days, you said, and I’m still over here bleeding like it’s a fresh wound. They don’t know what’s wrong, and I’m not going to let them prick me with any more goddamn needles to figure it out.”

Leon couldn’t hold himself still. It was like something else entirely pulled him across the floor, right to Krauser’s side where he didn’t quite sit down on the cot beside him, but he did bend and put his hand on Krauser’s shoulder. It rested there for no more than a second before Krauser was batting it away, jumping up to his feet.

“Krauser, you can figure this out—”

“Don’t!” Krauser shouted, looking at him. There was some crazed look in his eye that Leon couldn’t quite place. Was it fear? Was it sadness? Anger? Leon didn’t know, anymore. He’d stopped being able to read Krauser ages ago. “You can’t _fix_ this, Leon! You always do this, fuck—” Krauser dragged his hand through his hair, stomping off to the other side of the shed. “You’re always trying to fix shit. Sometimes there’s shit you can’t fix, and this is one of them!”

“That’s not what I’m trying to do. You’re not thinking clearly. Jack, if you’d just _listen_ —”

“You don’t get to call me that,” Krauser accused, jabbing his finger right in Leon’s face. “You don’t get to come in here and act like you can fix _anything_ , let alone just make me _feel better_ , or whatever it is you’re trying to do.”

Leon frowned. “That’s not fair.”

“This is my life. You _know_ this is my life. And look—one _fuck up_ , and it’s all gone. That’s it. They want to lock me up like another one of their fucking test subjects and find out what’s going on. You wouldn’t want that. Why do I have to want it?”

“I didn’t _say_ that. Would you please just listen to me?”

“For what? So you can tell me that everything is going to be alright and that I’ll find a way to get past this? You’ve said that, already. It’s all you ever say. It’s all you ever _did_ say—oh, we’ll get through this. Fuck that. We didn’t. There is no getting past some things.”

Leon folded his arms. It was less angry and more defensive, self-protection, like it was actually possible to just cross up his limbs and deflect things he didn’t want to hear.

“Maybe if you talked more,” Leon muttered, “instead of just thinking you could muscle your way past everything, we could have.”

“Is that what this is about?” Krauser asked.

“You brought it up.”

“It’s always _my_ fault, isn’t it?” Whatever lull had just taken place was gone, instantly. Krauser was proving, time and time again, that he didn’t know any other way to be than just angry. Leon didn’t know how to get angry enough. Nothing was ever solved. Nothing was ever fixed.

“If _I_ could just talk more. If _I_ could just listen. If _I_ could just—whatever the else fuck you always wanted me to do. Maybe if _you_ stopped trying to change me—!”

“I’m trying to _help_!” Leon argued

“Why?” Krauser shouted. “Why can’t you just leave it alone for once in your goddamn _life_ —”

“Because I love you!”

And that was it. Leon said it. He couldn’t take it back. He’d never be able to take that back. It wasn’t the words that mattered so much as the tense they’d been said in. It wasn’t _loved_. It was love, as in, no matter what had happened, Leon was still currently suffering from something he didn’t think he’d ever be able to get rid of. He still loved Krauser, despite it all. In that moment, maybe he’d even thought admitting it would help. Maybe, in his mind, he’d said the words and Krauser had been calmed, less of a raging beast and more of an understanding partner.

Leon was wrong. The words, at that point, did nothing more than stoke a burning ember they’d let go for far too long. It’d always been easier to just ignore it all; that’s all they’d been doing. With it all right there again, out in the open, the ember turned to a living, breathing bonfire. It set a fire right between them, and that fire sucked away the air, the space. Krauser moved first, no tenderness in the way that he moved. This was no hopeful reunion, no peaceful homecoming. This was Krauser grabbing Leon by the collar of his shirt and slamming him directly into the wall.

Krauser had always been stronger. No matter how Leon struggled to get away, he couldn’t push Krauser off of him. He almost didn’t want Krauser off of him, and that made it even more difficult. He could have gone for the neck, for the eyes, but all Leon could do was grasp at Krauser’s wrists.

“ _Jack_ —” he breathed. Everything shattered.

Krauser fell forward. Leon pulled him in. Everything happened all at once, and it ended with a kiss. It was first just a hard clash of teeth, growling more than kissing, but it _melted_ just positively a moment later. Krauser’s hold went lax, and Leon couldn’t help but drape his arms over Krauser’s shoulder instead of mindlessly gripping at his wrists. Leon was crowded up against the wall, and he could feel Krauser’s teeth on his lips as well as he could feel the hard outline of his body. Of _everything_.

It was a desperate, hot mess as they kissed. Saliva. Warm breath. Krauser’s hands were on his neck instead of his collar—and Leon could _feel_ the tremble in Krauser’s fingers. Like he wanted to clamp down on Leon’s airways and put an end to everything, once and for all. But he wouldn’t. Instead, he just kissed harder, pressing Leon into the wall with their bodies flush together. Krauser didn’t want this to end any more than Leon did. No, they wanted it to go further.

Krauser ground his hips forward, and Leon could feel the hard outline of his cock. He suddenly wished they were anywhere but a dingy shed with nothing more than a cot. He _wished_ but wishing wouldn’t change it. Wishing wouldn’t grant him the virtue of patience. Whatever he could get, he needed it now. Leon showed it, grabbing uselessly at Krauser. He tried his shoulders, down his chest, his waist, but Krauser just pressed closer, kissing him harder.

Leon could breathe through his nose, but it wasn’t enough. Every kiss stole his breath, left his mind fogged and confused. But he didn’t care. He finally settled his hold on Krauser’s hips and used that leverage to move. They rutted into each other, heads tilting to deepen the kiss. The air was stifling around them, between them—whatever air was even left. Leon’s back arched, and that was the final straw. That snapped something, whatever it was that had been holding Krauser back.

He grabbed Leon by the shoulders, pulled back, and spun Leon around all in one motion. He slammed Leon back into the wall, and it was all Leon could do to just brace himself against the wood. He knew he could stop this. Krauser would never hurt him; he’d had every chance to do it but hadn’t. The problem was Leon didn’t want this to stop. He wanted Krauser’s hands on him again. It was a searing touch, one that he’d missed, and he couldn’t help a breathless moan as Krauser pressed up against his back.

With arms wrapped around, Krauser started frantically working on Leon’s belt. Leon could have helped, but he just wanted to feel this. The rough way Krauser pulled his pants open, how he hooked his fingers into his waistband, his underwear too, and just _wrenched_ them down. Leon’s legs were quaking, and when Krauser pressed against him again, Leon reached behind himself to grab at Krauser’s shirt.

Krauser trapped Leon right there against the wall as he rested his hands on it, around Leon’s head. They were pressed together as close as they could be, and Krauser hooked his chin over Leon’s shoulder. It was a moment of calm. The eye of the storm. They were both panting; Leon’s face was red, and his knees were still wobbly.

“Jack,” Leon muttered.

Krauser didn’t say anything, just shifted closer. He was hard, and his pants did nothing to hide that. Leon could feel the curve of his cock pressed right against his ass; that was all either of them could think about.

Krauser pulled Leon away from the wall and tossed him straight down to the cot. He could have followed immediately, but he didn’t. One foot at time, he pulled Leon’s boot up to rest on his thigh and worked on untying it. It was— _intimate,_ having his boots taken off. Krauser dropped them both to the floor, and then he tugged Leon’s pants and underwear down. They went on the floor too. The cot wasn’t big enough for the both of them, but neither of them cared. Krauser pulled himself onto it. As he did, he hiked Leon’s legs up over his shoulders.

They smashed together in yet another kiss. Leon ignored the strain in his thighs as Krauser bent him in half. He didn’t _care_. Their hips were pressed up together, and that bulge in Krauser’s pants was nudged right against the underside of his own straining cock. He moaned into their kiss, threading his fingers through Krauser’s hair. Pulled him closer. Scraped his nails through his scalp until he could feel Krauser tremble between his thighs.

Fuck. It’d been far too long. Neither one of them could wait, and that was almost a blessing. Krauser separated from their kiss only to focus on himself. He tore at his belt, the snap, and his zipper. He worked his cock out of his pants and groaned once he had it in hand.

Leon didn’t have a moment to even enjoy the sight in front of him. It was all just a sudden flurry of rushed hurried movements that followed. Krauser’s cock was slick with his own precum, and in the next instant, that wetness pressed right between Leon’s thighs, right along the underside of his own cock. Leon shuddered, let Krauser manhandle him around until both of his knees were hooked over Krauser’s left shoulder.

“I want to _fuck_ you,” Krauser growled.

“We can’t—”

Krauser rocked his hips, and that shoved the breath right out of Leon’s lungs. Krauser’s cock dragged against his own, and the pleasure shot up through his spine instantly. Krauser bent over him, threading his fingers through Leon’s hair and pulling his head back. Leon groaned, but he didn’t fight it. Krauser’s hold kept him still, kept him right where Krauser wanted him. They were close enough that they could kiss, but Leon couldn’t move. He was helpless right there, subject to Krauser’s whim alone.

And that was just how he wanted it. Just what he craved—what he _missed_. For once in his life, he could stop talking about the logistics and the reality. He could lose himself in how Krauser felt against him, their hips moving together, Krauser’s zipper digging into the swell of his ass.

“ _Fuck_ me,” Leon gasped, arching his back. He wanted it too.

Krauser wrenched his head back and all but attacked him. His pace increased as he dragged his teeth down Leon’s neck. Leon suddenly wished his shirt weren’t in the way. Wished that Krauser had bothered to take off _any_ of his clothes. He could close his eyes and almost imagine that they were someplace warm and comfortable, could almost _feel_ what it would be like to have Krauser fuck into him again. That slow, sensuous drag inside of him. Leon shuddered as the pleasure shot through him, groaned out, and arched his back. He clenched his thighs around Krauser’s cock just to feel the way his hips stuttered.

They rocked together; Leon only able to find purchase by digging his nails into Krauser’s forearms. Krauser’s fingers were in his hair. Cock against his own. Leon was trembling, moaning then as Krauser wedged a hand between them to get a hand around the top of Leon’s cock and squeeze, just gently enough that Leon’s jaw dropped open.

Krauser licked into his mouth and kissed him, wholly. Leon shook underneath him, squeezing at his arms, his shoulders, anywhere that he could grab. His hips bucked to meet Krauser’s. They moved together. Practiced. Hot. Desperate. Intense. Leon kissed back with whatever he could manage, sucking Krauser’s tongue into his mouth. He could feel something building as Krauser’s hips stuttered, as his grip faltered, and he lost focus in turn for just kissing.

“Jack,” Leon gasped. “ _Jack_ , hurry. I can’t—I won’t last much longer.”

“You always did finish _fast_ ,” Krauser grumbled, but there was a laugh right in the back of his throat that left Leon feeling warm.

Leon grabbed Krauser’s face and pulled him back down for a harder kiss. Fast, _searing_ , before they flipped. Once Leon was firmly seated in Krauser’s lap, he did what _he_ wanted. He wrenched Krauser’s shirt over his head. Once that was gone, Leon pulled of his own. He didn’t care about the pants, even as the zipper dug into his skin. It was fine. All he cared about was getting his hand around their cocks and grinding together. He cared more for the way Krauser grabbed at his hips.

Leon rocked into him, stroking their cocks as he did. Krauser’s hips bucked beneath him, the squeeze of his fingers tightened. It didn’t take much longer, after that. Not for either of them. Leon’s hips began to stutter, his jaw dropped open in quiet moans. Krauser groaned deep in his throat, arching up to meet every uselessly, abortive little thrust Leon could offer. There was nothing but fire between them, and when Leon finally came, his back arched and head thrown back, it was the greatest image before him that Krauser had ever seen.

He came a moment after, and it was with an overwhelming amount of heat, feeling. Leon had all but collapsed on top of him, and in those last moments of their finish, Krauser wrapped Leon up in his arms and really, for the first time in _months_ , held him. Leon curled his fingers into Krauser’s chest and just trembled. The exhaustion hit him like a wave in the moment after.

They could talk about this. Neither one of them were leaving this shed until they did talk about it. But the talking could wait. Leon was too much of a sleeper. Before Krauser could even think of words to say, Leon had already drifted off on his chest. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, as they were both sweaty and sticky, but Krauser didn’t move. He just rubbed down the length of Leon’s spine while he slept.

Leon slept soundly for just over an hour, and Krauser laid there through every painless second of it. He had one arm around Leon and one behind his head as a makeshift pillow. He didn’t once try to shift, not until Leon was shifting on top of him. At just five minutes past the hour, Leon was pushing himself up slowly, on shaky arms. There was just the shortest moment where Leon looked down at Krauser, and Krauser looked back at him. For that moment, everything was the same that it’d always been.

Once, they’d been stupid. They would find ways to sneak together, to sleep in the same bed. They were so wrapped up in each other that nothing else mattered. For the moment, that’s exactly what they were. Younger, stupid, and so wrapped up in each other that nothing else mattered. That moment died as fast as it came, and Leon shifted off of Krauser. There wasn’t much space on the cot, but Leon found a place right at the end where he could sit.

Krauser sat up. There was a bag leaning up against the cot, on the floor, and that was where Krauser found something with some semblance to a rag. He wiped himself down, tucked himself back into his pants, and handed it off to Leon. This was the best luxury they could be afforded—a ratty old rag. It was like college, only college could have at least given them a real bed and not some army cot. That, and it was cold. College would have had heating. After Leon had cleaned himself down, he grabbed his shirt off the floor.

“What do we say?” Krauser asked, settling back down on the cot. He folded his hands over his stomach and just waited. Leon didn’t respond immediately.

“I don’t know,” was the best he could come up with.

“For once, Leon—driven to silence.” Krauser snorted. “Couldn’t have done it better if we’d actually _fucked_ —”

“Is that all it was?” Leon asked.

Krauser’s attempt at humor died in the air. He didn’t know the answer to that. More accurately, he was afraid of the answer. He was afraid of what the answer meant, because he knew the answer. It was more than just a fuck. It’d always _been_ more than just a fuck. But what did that mean? Did that mean things were okay? Because they surely weren’t. If things were okay—if they could ever be okay, then it changed everything.

“We tried it already,” Krauser said, instead, pushing himself up. “We did this, and look what happened? We fucked it up. Why would you want to do it again?”

“Because we don’t have _fuck it up_ this time.” Leon turned to look at Krauser. “Just—” he sighed. “Tell me if I’m wrong to hope for this.”

Krauser sat up and leaned forward onto his knees. “They were just waiting to get rid of me,” he said. No answer for Leon’s question. Just Krauser, resting his head in his hand like he was defeated.

“You know that’s not true.”

“How do you know it isn’t? Everything’s all about _you_. Leon Kennedy to the rescue. It’s like they rely on you to do everything, and you always come back perfect. Like some fucking god’s armor, if you ask me.”

Leon sat there, still and silence.

“I go out once in a blue fucking moon and I come back with—look at this.” Krauser jabbed his arm in Leon’s direction. It’d been hours since he’d had it looked at, and already, Leon could see that the bandages needed changing. “It’s not healing. You know what happens, next.”

“You’re not going to fucking turn!” Leon argued. “You would have—you _would have_ by now.” Leon jumped off the cot and went to the pile of clothes on the floor; he started getting dressed, ready to leave. “I didn’t come here to listen to you talk about how your life is over.”

“It is over. You wouldn’t get it, because these people would fall over their own cocks to put you on a mission.”

Leon hadn’t heard any of this before. He’d never seen Krauser looking _weak_ like this, like something had just shattered inside of him. Even as Leon approached the door of the shed, he was desperate just to know what was happening. If he could somehow find his way into Krauser’s head, maybe he’d be able to help him. There was something Krauser wasn’t talking about, and maybe it was better that he didn’t. Still, Leon wanted to know. He didn’t care what happened after.

He didn’t have the strength to leave the shed. He pressed his hand against it, rested his forehead there, and sighed.

“Tell me to stay,” Leon begged. It was straight back to the original conversation. Had it mattered? Was there anything left int his space between them or was it nothing more than a gaping cavern that Leon was a fool for hoping to cross.

“Stay,” Krauser said. The word dropped like a rock straight into Leon’s gut.

He turned right back around and walked back to the cot. He didn’t settle for just sitting on the edge of it. He walked to the edge, grabbed Krauser by the shoulders, and yanked him in close. A kiss. A searing, hot kiss that could say more than Leon could ever think to. One that Krauser couldn’t refuse, couldn’t deny. If anything, Krauser just craved it. He pulled Leon closer, right back onto the cot like he’d never left, like they’d never parted. It went no further than that kiss, but when it ended, Leon was in Krauser’s lap.

“If you’d just fucking _talk_ ,” Leon said, desperately. “I could help. You’ve never let me help. I’m not trying to fix anything. I’m not trying to fix _you—_ fuck.” Leon didn’t know what to do. This wasn’t a situation either of them ever put themselves in. Not willingly. This wasn’t willing. This was a last-ditch effort to fix what they’d never tried to fix, and if they failed, that was it. Leon didn’t know what Krauser was thinking, but he did know that whatever it was, he was terrified of it. Terrified where it would take Krauser.

Leon did the only thing he could think to do—wrapped his arms around Krauser’s neck and pulled him into his chest. Krauser jolted and went still, but after a moment, he draped his arms low around Leon’s hips. This was something different, but he didn’t hate it. If anything, Krauser found it comforting, but he wasn’t so in touch with this part of things. He’d spent too much time trying to be strong, because that just made everything so much easier.

It’d always felt like a competition. Him against Leon, even when they were on the same side. Even when they’d been _them,_ it was a competition. It was Krauser’s competition, and this proved it. Nothing that Krauser could concoct in his own head meant anything compared to _this_ , how eager Leon was to just be here with him. He could think Leon was strong, spoiled, over-rated. He could even think Leon was weak, was a coward, trembling in fear at the sight of the virus. None of it mattered.

Krauser thought he’d made a decision. He was going to leave; they didn’t want him here, anyway. Somewhere out there was better than whatever tubes they were already planning to hook him up to. They’d be stupid not to want to study his arm, and he knew that. But, in the same vein, they weren’t asking. They would do it whether or not Krauser wanted to spend the rest of his live in a little observatory room with all manner of wires hooked into him.

“You’re not wrong,” Krauser finally said, squeezing his fingers into the small of Leon’s back. He shifted to press his forehead into Leon’s chest instead of his cheek. “Hope for something. I still can’t stay here.”

Leon pulled back and cupped Krauser’s jaw, tilting his head up so it was Krauser’s chin against his chest. “Where would you even go? How would you go? You won’t possibly be able to carry enough supplies—”

“You think there aren’t other settlements out there? I take what I can carry and just pick a direction.” It wasn’t entirely the truth. Krauser had a very specific idea of where he would go, and he knew it wasn’t something that Leon would approve of. Part of him hoped that Leon could take that disapproval and use it to convince him to make a different decision.

“What about your arm, then?” Leon asked. “Are you just going to start reusing bandages when you run out, or are you washing them in river water, now?”

Krauser frowned.

“You need medical attention. Even if this doesn’t turn into some festering, blood flinging thing like Manuela had, it could still be dangerous.”

“Do I need medical attention?” Krauser asked. “Or do I need a battlefield nurse?”

It was Leon’s turn to frown. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah.”

“You want me to, what, desert and run off with you?”

“Seems like the sort of romantic shit you’d like. Why not? Then, if something does happen, you just shoot me in the head and get to come waltzing back like you were doing it for the good of the cause.” Now, Krauser was just trying to talk himself out of his decision. If Leon went with him, walking straight to Umbrella wasn’t going to be a good idea. If he ever wanted to do that, he had to cut things off so permanently that Leon wouldn’t even think to look for him, and with how _well_ this was going, maybe Krauser wasn’t quite ready for that.

He’d have to die. Leon would have to think he did. He squeezed Leon just a little tighter.

“I don’t want to think about that,” Leon muttered. “You’re not going to turn, and I’m not going to shoot you.”

“Would you even be able to?” Krauser asked. “If I were to become one of those fucks?”

Leon didn’t answer. He just threaded his fingers back through Krauser’s hair and took a little too tight of a grip. Krauser didn’t say anything; he let Leon have that moment, even if it tugged uncomfortably at his scalp. He didn’t need Leon to answer, either, because he knew the answer. He’d seen how Leon acted out there, picking up people like they were stray puppies in need of help. Leon’s heart was as soft as his mind was sharp. Even when he knew something needed to be done, every once and awhile, Krauser had seen him falter.

They’d known Manuela for a fraction of time, and Krauser had seen how Leon had just latched onto her. One might think that Leon had taken some fatherly obligation over her safety. He hadn’t wanted her to help fight, too afraid she would have died before they were safe. Even after she wasn’t their responsibility _or_ their concern, Leon couldn’t shut off the worry. A bit of a mother hen syndrome, really, but it’d always been one of those parts about him that Krauser was loathed to admit he found. Charming.

If it came down to it, Krauser right on the cusp of turning into one of those monsters, he didn’t think Leon would be able to pull the trigger. Not until he was gone. Krauser wouldn’t die a man because Leon wouldn’t be able to do it, and really, Krauser couldn’t blame him. As much as he talked the way that he did, all tough and focused, Krauser didn’t _know_ if he’d be able to do what he was asking Leon to do. If it was Leon, bleeding out from a bite wound, Krauser might find his very first moment of hesitation.

They’d hurt each other. They could _continue_ to hurt each other, because things were complicated, and neither of them knew what they were doing. Killing each other was a different story all together.

“You don’t have to come with me,” Krauser said to fill the silence. “I wouldn’t hold it against you.”

“Yes, you would. You’d brood about it for days, at least. After that, you’d forget all about me.”

“I wouldn’t.”

Leon allowed himself to smile. He leaned down so they could kiss again. Kissing was easier than talking, and they’d never been particularly good at talking. But this. This, they were good at. Leon tilted Krauser’s head back to make the kiss a little easier, a little smoother, and in response, Krauser dragged his touch up Leon’s back and held him just a little closer. When they parted, it was Leon who pulled back first. They couldn’t just sit here and kiss for the rest of the day.

“Let me look at that arm, big guy,” Leon said, tapping Krauser’s shoulder. Krauser groaned, but he didn’t openly object.

It took some maneuvering until they were seated together, facing each other sideways on the cot. Leon had his meager bag of medical supplies, and Krauser had all the want in the world that they could just get this over with. The more attention this wound on his arm got, the worse the dread in his gut was beginning to feel.

Theoretically speaking, Leon was probably mostly correct—if Krauser was going to turn into some sort of monster, he’d have done it already. They’d seen some variance in how long it took people to shift, but they always did. On the flip side, there was too much variance, here. This was a version of the virus they barely understood, as comparable to the first iteration which they also didn’t understand entirely well, either. The closer the virus went from a virus to a purposeful, medical based mutation, the longer that time frame to turn might become.

As Krauser just watched Leon work, he couldn’t help but just wonder. If he _were_ going to turn into some horrific monster like Javier had, how would they know how long it would take? They were past the point of horror-time zombies. It was something _more_ , now. Biochemical weapons. There was no way to tell. Leon being so sure that he was right was just a defense mechanism; neither of them would be able to handle it if he were incorrect. Knowing that there was only a chance he was should have been enough reason for Krauser to leave without him.

Still, there was something so soft about the way he tended to Krauser’s wound. He didn’t care about how weak Krauser may have thought it made him. Leon didn’t even care about how long they’d been apart. With one word from Krauser—not even that they were back together, just that it was okay to hope that they would be, Leon turned back into the Leon he’d always been. No more tiptoeing around like they were afraid of each other.

“Come with me,” Krauser said, again. Leon was still working on cleaning the wound, the blood that simply wouldn’t stop.

“Do we have to talk about this now?”

“Yes. You said I didn’t talk enough, so we’re talking. About this. Right now.”

“It does sound—what did you call it? Like the sort of stupid romantic thing I’d like?”

Krauser smirked. “And do you?”

“That doesn’t mean I can just drop everything and leave.” Leon sighed and worked on wrapping new bandages around the wound. He also didn’t think it was the best idea to leave. As much as Krauser may have not liked what fate could await him, it might have been better than dying of sepsis on the road somewhere. He said as such, too, but Krauser just rolled his eyes.

“What about Manuela? You don’t want her here, but you want me to just give up and let it happen?”

“That’s not what I—okay, fine,” Leon grumbled. He sighed, again, and pulled the bandages tight. “Maybe I’m just worried. And before _you_ say anything, yes, I know I worry too much. This isn’t something I can do anything about.”

Krauser shook his head. “If you could, I still bet you break her out and go on wild adventures out there, surviving how we had to when this whole thing started.”

Leon smiled, offering just the lightest chuckle. “Alright, alright, you got me. Listen—let me sleep on it, at least, alright? I still don’t know, but it’s late, and too much has happened to really think clearly.”

“Right.”

“It _is_ late. I think we should head in for the night.”

“We could just stay here,” Krauser said, suddenly a bit sour. “I’m staying here.”

“They’ll come looking.”

“They haven’t so far. Besides, who’s to say I even have a place to sleep anymore? At least we’re too past the point of picking between honorable and dishonorable discharge.” He snorted and shifted so he could lay down on the cot. This time, he laid on his side, facing the wall. If Leon wanted to stay, there was just enough space against Krauser’s back for him to lay down.

It wasn’t just an invitation to have their first night together in a long time. It was an invitation for Leon to stop thinking. All he ever did was think. There were so few decisions he just left to chance, left to the gut. Everything had to have the pros and the cons weighed out, the consequences mapped and plotted. He was too busy thinking of what might happen if he left to think about what would happen if he _did_. If he ever got to thinking about that, there was no doubt he’d think of the cons, first, and talk himself out of it before he even thought about the pros.

For once, Leon took the invitation. He didn’t think about anything in regard to what lying down here and now would mean. He just took the time to unlace his boots, but then he laid down. It wasn’t just that he’d laid down that shocked Krauser, it was the manner in which he did it. They’d slept back to back plenty of times. Krauser had expected that, here, if Leon chose to stay. Leon chose to stay, but he also chose to press his forehead right into the space between Krauser’s shoulder blades.

For a moment, that’s all it was, until Leon pressed his hand right into the divot of Krauser’s waist. It was simple, almost nothing, but came with all the heat of a strange intimacy. Something they hadn’t done in the longest of times because they were too busy trying to be everything to everyone except each other.

“Tell me the truth,” Leon muttered. “Would you hate me if I didn’t go?”

“No,” Krauser replied, “but I’d miss you.”

In the quiet of the evening, in the exhaustion of the day’s events, Krauser said the truth. If Leon had asked any earlier, Krauser may not have been able to say it, but he was drifting off to sleep before he’d even finished his sentence. Leon didn’t pry any further, not when a moment later he could hear the light beginning sounds of snoring. Krauser, of course, did not believe that he snored. No matter how many times Leon told him he did, he wouldn’t believe it. Maybe he thought it was just another thing to use against him, but Leon didn’t see it that way.

In fact, it was quite the opposite. As Leon listened to it, it lolled him straight to sleep. Something about the way he could _feel_ the snores right through Krauser’s back was comforting. For a moment, they weren’t wedged together on a cot with a decision of the future unspoken between them. Leon could imagine anything else. A nice room. A house, maybe, the kind that his parents always wanted for him. The white picket fence, the garden. The master bedroom would be a soft blue, and right in the middle against the wall would be their bed.

Come morning, no questions were asked, but neither were they answered. It started out as a brief morning, even if it was warm. Krauser had turned to face Leon, staying in just the right position that he wouldn’t put any undue stress on his arm, and that was just how Leon woke up. Krauser right there, looking at him. They shared a kiss, then a second one, and Krauser’s fingers carded back through Leon’s hair. They didn’t say anything, because they didn’t need to. It was, perhaps, better that they didn’t.

They’d both missed this. Dwelling on it was only going to turn syrupy, so they didn’t. They just shared this slow, morning kisses, and then Leon was the first to roll off the cot. He pulled Krauser up to sit at the edge of it, even if Krauser was ready to go back to sleep for a few minutes. The bandages needed changed again, already. It wasn’t a good sign, and as much as Leon felt the worry building up, he didn’t say anything. He cleaned Krauser’s wound and wrapped it up as tightly as he could manage.

The bleeding had at least finally stopped, but the wound still looked just as bad as it had. Leon tried not to think about it. There was something more pressing on his mind, even if it was just about the stupidest thing he could have thought about.

“We should hit the showers.”

Krauser raised an eyebrow. “Really?” But he wasn’t going to argue. They’d done enough arguing; Krauser was still tired, which always meant he was a bit more pliable. When Leon got up, put his boots back on, Krauser followed. He put himself back together in time to follow Leon out the door of the shed. Krauser left the door open just wide enough that it’d be easy to go back in and get his things. Whatever Leon decided, Krauser wasn’t staying here.

He followed Leon to the shower, which ended with following Leon into a shower. One stall, both of them, and Leon didn’t argue. If anything, he invited it. It fit into the dream too well, waking up slowly and stepping into the shower together. Everything was different, this time, from how angry and frenzied they’d been the day before.

Krauser kissed Leon once Leon’s shirt was off. He undid Leon’s pants, undressed him. Leon returned the favor, only pulling away when he had to. But they always met right back in the middle, kissing. Pressed together. When the water poured down, Leon’s back hit the wall. He wrapped his arms around Krauser’s neck, pulling him in close. There was no purpose to this. No desperate rutting, no hard breathing. Just touching. Just being close.

When their kiss parted, they didn’t. Krauser dropped down to run his lips along the column of Leon’s neck. Leon relaxed against the wall, humming to himself. The water was lukewarm, nearing on cold, but Krauser made up for it. Every press of his lips was a little jolt of warmth, and Leon craved it.

“Jack,” he almost gasped. Krauser kissed right along the line of his Adam’s apple before pulling away.

“Right. Shower,” he muttered in response.

Leon smiled and ran his fingers back through Krauser’s hair, slicking it back in the water. “Shower,” he agreed.

But it wasn’t just a shower, because when was the last time they’d taken one together? Too long. They helped each other, because they’d probably never get the chance again. Krauser would leave. Even if Leon went with him, it was back to washing up in rivers or downpours. They probably wouldn’t be lucky enough to find a shower again, but still, Leon was beginning to wonder if that was alright. Neither one of them had ever had much of an issue surviving on their own. Together, they’d be able to get whatever they needed.

They finished their shower, dried down as best they could, and pulled their clothes back on. Still, no questions were asked, but neither were they answered. Leon was working through his morning like it was a normal morning. It was normal, even when Krauser didn’t follow him to get food. Krauser would go back to the shed with only a comment that Leon bring him something to eat. He hadn’t eaten anything the night before, and it was beginning to hit hard.

Leon got his food, and he ate it alone. He tried not to think much about anything while he ate, just that it tasted a lot like he imagined ash would taste. It was filling, but the food left no good flavor on his tongue. It smelled fine. Looked fine. It must have tasted fine, but _he_ wasn’t fine.

He wanted to go. He wanted to go with Krauser but coming up with the right words to convince himself this was a good idea was hard. It would be more than just some stupid romantic adventure, even if Krauser had really tried to dumb it down to that. It would be dangerous. Krauser was willingly taking himself away from medical care, and for what? He’d never been the romantic one. If he was doing it for just a chance to choose his own death, then Leon could respect that. He didn’t have to like it.

Everything was too fatalistic. There were no easy stakes, anymore, and it made things hard. Complicated. It plagued Leon’s thoughts as he gathered up food to take back for Krauser.

There was, of course, another option. It dawned on him as he pushed his way through the door to the shed. He sat down on the cot with Krauser, said nothing, and passed him the food. There was a brief thanks before Krauser began to eat, and he ate exactly like a starved man might. Krauser was too big to go about skipping meals, but that’s exactly what he’d done. He needed the food, and Leon wasn’t going to interrupt the meal by talking. Instead, he was going to wrap himself up in his own thoughts.

Krauser was leaving, no matter what Leon decided. With his un-healing wound, they were both sure that the higher ups didn’t _want_ him to leave. They wanted to know what was wrong with him. Krauser didn’t care what was wrong with him; he only card about what it’d taken from him—everything he’d worked for and had ever wanted. Gone. That was a dangerous mindset to walk with into a world on fire. Company might be the only thing that kept him from doing something rash.

Leon was more terrified than he realized that Krauser would do something rash. Krauser just leaving still left that bit of hope burning that there was something here for them, between them. But Krauser doing something rash erased it entirely, because Leon knew what Krauser’s rash tended to mean. It tended to mean injury. It could mean death.

“What if you left, and I followed?” Leon blurted, before he’d even thought about it.

Krauser stopped mid-bite and just looked at him, a silent question of what the _fuck_ was he talking about.

“It’d be like losing an asset,” Leon continued, jumping up to his feet. “They’d definitely want to bring you back, and I think I’ve got good leverage on that. Sure, nobody knows what we’ve _done_ , but they know we’re close. Who better to track you down than the person who knows you best?”

Krauser raised an eyebrow.

“So, we pick a place to meet. You sneak out like you’re planning, meet me there, and I’ll head out as soon as I get the green light. I’ll find you, because you won’t run off without me, but no one says I have to bring you back.”

“That’s a stupid plan.”

“No, it’s not. I can argue why they shouldn’t send someone with me, and it’s fine. All I have to do is check in every once and awhile that you’re a giant asshole and are difficult to find.”

“Eventually, you tell them I’m dead. They want you back. What then?” Krauser went back to eating.

“I guess I die, too.”

“You’re dragging this out.”

“It means I can go with you.”

“Good,” Krauser said gruffly. “Come with me.”

He knew, at the core of this, he was taking the same thing from Leon that he’d had taken from him. But this was Leon’s choice. Leon didn’t have to come with him, but he’d just decided to do it, anyway. If the method failed, Leon would still follow. Back to plan B where he just finds a way to sneak out. All they needed now were supplies and a place to meet. Whatever happened after that, they’d figure it out. Between the two of them, there probably wasn’t anything that could stop them.

**Author's Note:**

>   
>  [Update Tumblr](https://oneofwebs.tumblr.com/)   
>  [Personal Tumblr!](https://tantumuna.tumblr.com)   
>  [My Twitter!](https://twitter.com/tantumunawrites)   
> 


End file.
